Presidential Communications Office handout
MANILA — The World Bank has committed to assist the Philippines in its goals to attain sustainable growth and continued pandemic recovery, an executive from the international financial institution said.
The Presidential Communications Office said Anna Bjerde, World Bank's managing director for operations, made the statement during her meeting with President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr's Cabinet members on Tuesday.
Bjerde said the Philippine economy has been "growing rapidly" since last year, citing the drop in COVID-19 infections and the reopening of the economy.
“The post-pandemic recovery is underway in the Philippines, with strong domestic demand weathering global headwinds," Malacañang said in a press release.
“The World Bank is committed to supporting the Philippines achieve long-term inclusive and sustainable growth, attain upper middle-income country status, and eventually become a predominantly middle-class society by 2040,” Bjerde was quoted as saying.
The World Bank executive said it was likewise committed to supporting the Philippines' plans to combat climate change, renewable energy transition, digitalization, and strengthening of the agriculture sector.
She and top government officials tackled development programs such as Teacher Effectiveness and Competencies Enhancement Project (Teacep) and Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP) Scale-Up.
The planned Teacep aims to boost the quality of teaching from Kindergarten to Grade 6 in the Bangsamoro, Zamboanga Peninsula, and Soccsksargen.
Meanwhile, the PRDP Scale-Up "will build on previous PRDP to further improve farmers’ and fisherfolks’ access to markets and increase income from selected agriculture and fisheries value chains."
The Palace said the World Bank's International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is considered the country's 3rd largest official development assistance partner, as active loans and grants reached $6.8 billion so far.
This is 21.2 percent of the country's total official development assistance, said the Palace.